Book of Common Prayer
The Assurance of God’s Saving Work
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
20 May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble;
May the name of the God of Jacob [a]defend you;
2 May He send you help from the sanctuary,
And strengthen you out of Zion;
3 May He remember all your offerings,
And accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah
4 May He grant you according to your heart’s desire,
And (A)fulfill all your [b]purpose.
5 We will rejoice in your salvation,
And in the name of our God we will set up our banners!
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.
6 Now I know that the Lord saves His [c]anointed;
He will answer him from His holy heaven
With the saving strength of His right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots, and some in (B)horses;
But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
8 They have bowed down and fallen;
But we have risen and stand upright.
9 Save, Lord!
May the King answer us when we call.
Joy in the Salvation of the Lord
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
21 The king shall have joy in Your strength, O Lord;
And in Your salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
2 You have given him his heart’s desire,
And have not withheld the (C)request of his lips. Selah
3 For You meet him with the blessings of goodness;
You set a crown of pure gold upon his head.
4 (D)He asked life from You, and You gave it to him—
Length of days forever and ever.
5 His glory is great in Your salvation;
Honor and majesty You have placed upon him.
6 For You have made him most blessed forever;
(E)You have made him [d]exceedingly glad with Your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord,
And through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be [e]moved.
8 Your hand will find all Your enemies;
Your right hand will find those who hate You.
9 You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger;
The Lord shall swallow them up in His wrath,
And the fire shall devour them.
10 Their offspring You shall destroy from the earth,
And their [f]descendants from among the sons of men.
11 For they intended evil against You;
They devised a plot which they are not able to (F)perform.
12 Therefore You will make them turn their back;
You will make ready Your arrows on Your string toward their faces.
13 Be exalted, O Lord, in Your own strength!
We will sing and praise Your power.
Announcement of the Messiah’s Reign(A)
A Psalm of David.
110 The (B)Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your (C)footstool.”
2 The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength (D)out of Zion.
(E)Rule in the midst of Your enemies!
3 (F)Your people shall be volunteers
In the day of Your power;
(G)In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning,
You have the dew of Your youth.
4 The Lord has sworn
And (H)will not relent,
“You are a (I)priest forever
According to the order of (J)Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is (K)at Your right hand;
He shall [a]execute kings (L)in the day of His wrath.
6 He shall judge among the nations,
He shall fill the places with dead bodies,
(M)He shall [b]execute the heads of many countries.
7 He shall drink of the brook by the wayside;
(N)Therefore He shall lift up the head.
Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death
116 I (A)love the Lord, because He has heard
My voice and my supplications.
2 Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.
3 (B)The [a]pains of death surrounded me,
And the [b]pangs of Sheol [c]laid hold of me;
I found trouble and sorrow.
4 Then I called upon the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I implore You, deliver my soul!”
5 (C)Gracious is the Lord, and (D)righteous;
Yes, our God is merciful.
6 The Lord preserves the simple;
I was brought low, and He saved me.
7 Return to your (E)rest, O my soul,
For (F)the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
8 (G)For You have delivered my soul from death,
My eyes from tears,
And my feet from falling.
9 I will walk before the Lord
(H)In the land of the living.
10 (I)I believed, therefore I spoke,
“I am greatly afflicted.”
11 (J)I said in my haste,
(K)“All men are liars.”
12 What shall I render to the Lord
For all His benefits toward me?
13 I will take up the cup of salvation,
And call upon the name of the Lord.
14 (L)I will pay my vows to the Lord
Now in the presence of all His people.
15 (M)Precious in the sight of the Lord
Is the death of His saints.
16 O Lord, truly (N)I am Your servant;
I am Your servant, (O)the son of Your maidservant;
You have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to You (P)the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
And will call upon the name of the Lord.
18 I will pay my vows to the Lord
Now in the presence of all His people,
19 In the (Q)courts of the Lord’s house,
In the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
[d]Praise the Lord!
Let All Peoples Praise the Lord
117 Praise (R)the Lord, all you Gentiles!
[e]Laud Him, all you peoples!
2 For His merciful kindness is great toward us,
And (S)the truth of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!
22 “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and He added no more. And (A)He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.
The People Afraid of God’s Presence(B)
23 (C)“So it was, when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, that you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders. 24 And you said: ‘Surely the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and (D)we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God speaks with man; yet he (E)still lives. 25 Now therefore, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; (F)if we hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore, then we shall die. 26 (G)For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? 27 You go near and hear all that the Lord our God may say, and (H)tell us all that the Lord our God says to you, and we will hear and do it.’
28 “Then the Lord heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me: ‘I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. (I)They are right in all that they have spoken. 29 (J)Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and (K)always keep all My commandments, (L)that it might be well with them and with their children forever! 30 Go and say to them, “Return to your tents.” 31 But as for you, stand here by Me, (M)and I will speak to you all the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments which you shall teach them, that they may observe them in the land which I am giving them to possess.’
32 “Therefore you shall [a]be careful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you; (N)you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 33 You shall walk in (O)all the ways which the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live (P)and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.
Coming with Authority
13 This will be (A)the third time I am coming to you. (B)“By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.” 2 (C)I have told you before, and foretell as if I were present the second time, and now being absent [a]I write to those (D)who have sinned before, and to all the rest, that if I come again (E)I will not spare— 3 since you seek a proof of Christ (F)speaking in me, who is not weak toward you, but mighty (G)in you. 4 (H)For though He was crucified in weakness, yet (I)He lives by the power of God. For (J)we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you.
5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, (K)that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you [b]are (L)disqualified. 6 But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified.
Paul Prefers Gentleness
7 Now [c]I pray to God that you do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you should do what is honorable, though (M)we may seem disqualified. 8 For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. 9 For we are glad (N)when we are weak and you are strong. And this also we pray, (O)that you may be made complete. 10 (P)Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the (Q)authority which the Lord has given me for edification and not for destruction.
Greetings and Benediction
11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. (R)Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love (S)and peace will be with you.
12 (T)Greet one another with a holy kiss.
13 All the saints greet you.
14 (U)The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and (V)the [d]communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we (A)not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And (B)then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; (C)depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Build on the Rock(D)
24 “Therefore (E)whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that (F)the people were astonished at His teaching, 29 (G)for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.